Systems management navigation and focus collection

ABSTRACT

Systems management navigation and focus collection is described. In one implementation computing-based managed items which are part of a systems management environment are navigated to locate one or more computing-based managed items. In another implementation, the computing-based managed items are indexed, and then searched to locate one or more of the computing-based managed items from among the computing-based managed items which have been indexed. The searching can be based on one or more search requests. Each of the one or more computing-based managed items located by the navigating and/or the searching is identified by a respective unique identifier, and selected ones of the unique identifiers can be collected in a focus collection where they are at least temporarily maintained for a user.

BACKGROUND

Systems management often requires that a user navigate among a largenumber of computer-based managed items which are part of a systemsmanagement environment. The computer-based managed items can includecomputers, software systems, mobile phones, personal digital assistants(PDAs), and/or any other items that can be managed by a systems manager.For ease of discussion, such computer-based managed items may bereferred to herein simply as “managed items” or “items”. In many casesthese managed items are part of complex structures and are often linkedby complex relationships.

The systems manager may need to navigate among the managed items and/orto locate certain managed items in the system for a host of reasons. Forexample, the systems manager may simply need to evaluate the generalperformance of the system, or the systems manager may need to diagnoseand/or repair one or more managed items. The systems manager may need toaddress the migration of new hardware and software into or out of thesystem. The systems manager may also need to locate a business system,such as an email service that is not working, or may need to makeconfiguration changes and/or security changes to certain managed items.In any of these cases, the systems manager will typically need to locatethe items requiring attention.

Navigating among and/or finding computer-based managed items in asystems management environment would not be a difficult task if thenumber of managed items was small. However, the task is often verydifficult because the systems manager must navigate among a largenumbers of managed items. For example, the systems manager may need tonavigate among thousands of computers, millions of software systems,components, applications, and the like. The sheer quantity of manageditems in the system can make it difficult to navigate among the itemsand/or to locate the items which require attention.

Systems management continues to grow more complex, in part due tocomputing environments that continue to become more complicated andinvolved. For example, companies are using a greater number of computerswhich are linked by increasingly complex relationships. The increasingprevalence of mobile computing devices such as laptop computers, mobilephones, and PDAs has further complicated the computing environment. Putsimply, as the computing world grows more complicated and managementoperations become more ambitious, systems management becomesincreasingly problematical. Unfortunately, the present techniques fornavigating among computer-based managed items and/or finding manageditems that require attention are often impractical, or at the least veryinconvenient for the complex systems management environment.

One conventional technique for navigating among a large number ofmanaged items is to use a “tree control” similar to that used fornavigating among folders and files on most desktop computers. In thiscase, the large number of managed items is divided up into a hierarchyof groupings. One central challenge that systems managers face is thatthere are many reasonable ways to arrange the managed items intohierarchical groups, and if the systems manager does not understand thearrangement chosen by a software designer, it can be difficult to locatea managed item that is of interest to the systems manager.

Some other techniques support multiple simultaneous ways of arrangingthe managed items into “trees”, which is a concept referred to as“polyarchy”. A polyarchical arrangement makes it somewhat easier for thesystems manger to find an item, but only if the systems mangerunderstands and chooses one of the hierarchies that was implemented bythe software designer. In some cases, the system allows an administratorto define the hierarchies to be used, but in any organization withseveral staff members the difficulty of understanding the hierarchiesremains. Unfortunately, in many cases, even if the systems mangerunderstands and chooses one of the hierarchies implemented by thesoftware designer, there may be too many folders and too many items topractically navigate.

Another challenge faced by systems managers is how to select severalmanaged items for further manipulation, when such items are located inseparate navigational contexts. For example, conventional “multi-select”techniques, such as “control-click”, can be difficult to use since theyrequire a high degree of articulation when using a mouse. This isespecially true when navigating among millions of items. Still further,such multi-select techniques may not even be available if finding themanaged items requires navigation through different data structures, asthe separate navigational steps will normally “collapse” the context.

While systems management has become increasingly complex, the presenttechniques for navigating among managed items, for finding managed itemswhich require attention, and for selecting managed items for furtherattention, have not kept pace.

SUMMARY

This summary is intended to introduce a selection of concepts insimplified form that are further described below in the DetailedDescription. This summary is not intended to identify key features oressential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended foruse in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.

In one implementation, systems management navigation and focuscollection describes navigating among computing-based managed itemswhich are part of a systems management environment to locate one or morecomputing-based managed items of interest to a systems manager. Each ofthe computing-based managed items of interest located by the navigatingis identified by a respective unique identifier. Selected uniqueidentifiers are then collected into a focus collection where they are atleast temporarily maintained.

In one implementation systems management navigation and focus collectiondescribes indexing the computing-based managed items using a variety ofdata and unique identifiers, and then receiving a search request tolocate one or more of the computing-based managed items from among thecomputing-based managed items which have been indexed. The systemsmanagement environment is then searched to locate the requestedcomputing-based managed items based on the search request. Selectedunique identifiers are then collected into the focus collection wherethey are at least temporarily maintained.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The same numbers are used throughout the drawings to reference likefeatures and components.

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary systems management system in whichembodiments of systems management and focus collection can beimplemented.

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary index in which embodiments of systemsmanagement and focus collection can be implemented.

FIG. 3 illustrates exemplary scenarios in which embodiments of systemsmanagement and focus collection can be implemented.

FIG. 4 illustrates exemplary scenarios in which embodiments of systemsmanagement and focus collection can be implemented.

FIG. 5 illustrates exemplary method(s) for systems management and focuscollection.

FIG. 6 illustrates exemplary method(s) for systems management and focuscollection.

FIG. 7 illustrates exemplary method(s) for systems management and focuscollection.

FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary general computer-based environment inwhich embodiments of systems management navigation and focus collectioncan be implemented.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Systems management navigation and focus collection is described in whichembodiments provide that a user (e.g., systems manager) can usecontextual browsing and/or search techniques to locate computing-baseditems of interest (e.g., various distributed computers, mobile devices,services, applications and/or other managed items) which are part of asystems management environment. In order to provide for searching in thesystems management context, an index of the computing-based manageditems is created. This index allows searches to be based on item types,item identities, metadata, data values, code words or classifications,or for searches to be based on any other data included in the index.Once an item of interest has been located, management actions can betaken on the item, or the item can be used as a starting point forfurther navigation. To further facilitate navigation, a focus collectionis provided which allows the user to navigate to a managed item usingany technique, and then simply place the item in the focus collectionwhere the item can be at least temporarily maintained for the user. Oncethe item has been placed in the focus collection, the item will not belost during additional navigation, even if such navigation is throughdifferent data structures.

While aspects of systems management navigation and focus collection canbe implemented in any number of different computing systems,environments, and/or configurations, embodiments of systems managementnavigation and focus collection are described in the context of thefollowing exemplary system architectures.

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary systems management system 100 in whichembodiments of systems management navigation and focus collection can beimplemented. The system 100 includes a manager device 102,computing-based managed items 104(1-N), and additional computing-basedmanaged items 106(1-N). The computing-based managed items 104(1-N) and106(1-N) can represent any combination of computers, software systems,mobile phones, PDAs, data storage devices, stored documents,computer-based processes, business data and/or any other items that canbe managed by a systems manager as part of a systems managementenvironment. For example, the computing-based managed items 104(1-N) canrepresent any number of servers or computing devices which can bemanaged by the systems manager via manager device 102, and thecomputing-based managed items 106(1-N) can represent any number ofsoftware systems or applications implemented on a managed item 104. Forease of discussion, the computer-based managed items 104(1-N) and106(1-N) are collectively referred to herein simply as “managed items”or “items”.

The manager device 102 can include a user interface 108 and an index110. The user interface 108 and index 110 can be implemented ascomponents of the manager device 102 (as shown in FIG. 1) and/or asseparate components. In various implementations, the user interface 108can be a graphical user interface, a command line interface, and/or ascripting system. The user interface 108 allows a user, such as asystems manager, to interact with the manager device 102 in order tomanage the computer-based managed items 104(1-N) and 106(1-N).

As described in detail below, a systems manager can interact with theuser interface 108 to search or otherwise navigate among thecomputing-based managed items 104(1-N) and 106(1-N) to locate one ormore items of interest. The systems manager may need to navigate amongthe managed items and/or locate certain managed items in the system fora host of reasons. By way of example, the systems manager may want tolocate and/or repair one or more of the managed items, or address themigration of new hardware and software into or out of the system, ormake configuration changes. In any of these cases, the systems managerwill typically need to locate the managed items requiring attention

The index 110 is generated so that the user can use conventional searchtechniques to locate managed items of interest for systems management.The index 110 can be implemented using any indexing technique that canbe used for a text search. To create the index 110, data associated withthe computing-based managed items 104(1-N) and 106(1-N) is processed tocreate a look-up table that can be used for locating selected ones ofthe computing-based managed items 104(1-N) and 106(1-N). No particularindexing format is required, and the index can be created by simplypresenting the data describing the computing-based managed items104(1-N) and 106(1-N) to a conventional indexing service for indexing.Many different types of data can be used for the indexing, and the moredata included in the index, the better the index will be. In otherwords, if more data is made available in the index, a search engineoperating on the index will be able to do a better job searching andlocating an item of interest. Of course, the overall size of the indexcan be managed so that the system's performance is not negativelyimpacted. Therefore, the present system provides that the administratorof the system can control granularity of the indexed attributes. Inother words, the amount of data stored in the index per-item can beadjusted in order to maximize performance and/or to reduce the load onthe indexing system.

By way of example, the different types of data used for the indexing caninclude: (1) the type of the managed item (e.g., Web Server, FileServer, SQL Server); (2) unique properties of the managed item (e.g.,the name and/or serial number of an item); (3) non-unique properties ofthe managed item (e.g., relatively static properties such as the size,manufacturer, model number, and/or geographic location of an item;and/or dynamically measured properties such as the amount of free diskspace on an item, load on a processor, and/or service level); (4)functions enabled on the managed item (e.g., whether a server has theDNS, DHCP, or AD service enabled, or whether the server is hosting a SQLor Exchange System); (5) membership of the managed item in aninformation technology (IT) service (e.g., mail service, orderprocessing service, and/or a payroll service); and (6) the businessclassifications of the managed item (e.g., such as mission-critical,production, or test classifications which are designations assigned by abusiness manager based on business judgment rather than on technicalqualities of the managed item itself).

When a wide variety of data such as this is used to create the index110, many different types of searches are possible. For example, thesystems manager can use the index 110 to find computers, services,applications, and other managed items based on searching item types,item identities, metadata, data values, code words, and/orclassifications of the managed items. Once an item of interest has beenlocated, management actions can be taken on the item, or the item can beused as a starting point for farther navigation.

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary index 200, which can be implemented invarious embodiments of systems management navigation and focuscollection, and as one example, can be implemented as index 110 shown inFIG. 1. In this example, the index 200 is presented in a simplified formthat includes very limited data for ease of discussion. A typical indexcould include thousands of computers, millions of software applications,and various mobile devices, each of which can be a listed as separatemanaged items in the index. Each of these items can be represented by aunique identifier which is associated with the managed item, and whichidentifies the associated managed item. In addition, each of the manageditems which are identified by the unique identifiers can be associatedwith many different data fields, or data types.

For ease of discussion, the exemplary index 200 describes only fourcomputing-based managed items using a small amount of data regardingthese items. The four managed items included in index 200 are manageditem 104(1) which is represented by unique identifier ID-104(1), manageditem 104(2) which is represented by unique identifier ID-104(2), manageditem 106(1) which is represented by unique identifier ID-106(1), andmanaged item 106(2) which is represented by unique identifier ID-106(2).Moving from left to right across FIG. 2, the first column is a uniqueidentifier column 202 which lists each one of the unique identifiers.These unique identifiers (ID-104(1), ID-104(2), ID-106(1), andID-106(2)) respectively identify the different computing-based manageditems (104(1), 104(2), 106(1), and 106(2)) which have been indexed.

Continuing from left to right, the next seven columns representdifferent exemplary fields which have been included in index 200 (i.e.,Item Type Field 204, Server Functions Enabled Field 206, GeographicLocation Field 208, Model Designation Field 210, Manufacturer Field 212,Business Classification Field 214, and Health State Field 216) todescribe the indexed managed items that are represented by the uniqueidentifiers. Directly below each of the field headings are lists ofvalues that correspond to each of the computing-based managed itemswhich have been indexed. In this example, the managed item (104(1))which is represented by unique identifier ID-104(1) is associated withthe following values (Item Type=Server; Server Functions Enabled=SQL;Geographic Location=Denver; Model Designation=Big Server; ManufactureDenver Electronics; Business Classification=Mission Critical; and HealthState=Resolved). It can therefore be appreciated that as part of theindexing, a unique identifier (such as unique identifier ID-104(1)) isrespectively associated with one of the indexed computing-based manageditems (such as items 104(1)). The indexing can also include associatingvalues which describe each of the indexed computing-based managed itemswith field names that categorize the values by type. As described indetail herein, one or more of the values can be received as part of thesearch request, and then used to locate computing-based items ofinterest that are associated with the one or more values.

FIG. 3 illustrates exemplary scenarios 300 in which embodiments ofsystems management and focus collection can be implemented, and is nowdescribed with ongoing reference to simplified index 200 (FIG. 2). FIG.3 illustrates examples 302, 304, and 306, each of which includes a userinterface 308. The user interface 308 includes a search field 310, aresults field 312, and a focus collection 314. The illustration showsentry of search request(s) at step one, display of search results atstep two, and collection of selected ones of the search results into afocus collection at step three.

The first example 302 illustrates entry of a single value in the searchfield 310 to locate a specific managed item of interest. For example, atstep one a user can enter a single value such as “Denver” in the searchfield 310 in order to find all the managed items that are associatedwith that value. At step two, the results of the search are displayed inresults field 312. The search located three managed items (representedby unique identifiers ID-104(1), ID-104(2), and ID-106(2)) which areassociated with the value “Denver”. By reviewing the index 200, one canappreciate that one of the items (e.g., ID-104(1)) is associated notonly with the geographic location, “Denver”, but is also associated withthe manufacturer “Denver Electronics”, while the other two items(ID-104(2) and ID-106(2)) located by the search are each associated witha manufacturer “Denver Electronics” but are not associated with thegeographic location “Denver”. At step 3, if the user is looking formanaged items located in the geographic location “Denver”, the user canexamine the search results, and then place the item associated with thegeographic location, “Denver” (represented by the unique identifierID-104(1)) into a focus collection 314 as shown.

A search request that includes a value (e.g., “Denver” as shown in FIG.3, example 302) but without referencing a field name associated with thevalue is often referred to as an “unspecified search”. Unspecifiedsearches can be very convenient to the user, but in some circumstancessuch searches may return unintended results. For example, as describedabove, even though the user may only be interested in managed items thatare located in the geographic location “Denver”, the search phrase“Denver” may also locate all managed items manufactured by “DenverElectronics” even if such items are located in some other city. In orderto avoid such spurious search results, the search system can alsosupport searches using more specific expressions, such as “geographiclocation=Denver”.

Referring now to example 304, at step one, the user again enters thesingle value “Denver” in the search field 310, and at step two all themanaged items which are associated with that value are displayed inresults field 312. The search located three managed items (respectivelyrepresented by unique identifiers ID-104(1), ID-104(2), and ID-106(2))which are associated with the value “Denver”. One of the items(ID-104(1)) is associated not only with the geographic location,“Denver”, but is also associated with the manufacturer “DenverElectronics”, while the other two items (ID-104(2) and ID-106(2))located by the search are each associated with the manufacturer “DenverElectronics” but are not associated with the geographic location“Denver”. At step 3, if the user is looking for managed itemsmanufactured by “Denver Electronics”, the user can examine the searchresults, and then place the managed items associated with themanufacturer, “Denver Electronics” (represented by the uniqueidentifiers ID-104(1), ID-104(2), and ID-106(2)) into a focus collection308, as shown. Here, since all three items are associated with themanufacturer “Denver Electronics”, all three items are placed in thefocus collection 314.

As other examples of single value searches, the user can enter “SQL” tofind all managed items which are SQL Servers, or “Mission-Critical” tofind all managed items which have been categorized as mission-critical,or “Server” to find all managed items that are servers.

Referring now to example 306, search expressions can also be specifiedas combinations of values. For example, at step one the searchexpression includes the combinations of values, “mission-criticalresolved Dallas SQL,” and all managed items that match all or somecriteria can be found. As illustrated at step two, the search resultsare ID-104(1) and ID-106(2). Unique identifier ID-104(1) is associatedwith the values “Mission-Critical”, “Resolved”, and “SQL”, and theunique identifier ID-106(2) is associated with the value “Resolved”. Thevalue “Dallas” which was included in the search did not have a match inthe index 200. However, it is not necessary that all the values used insuch multi-phrase searches match values used in the index 200, as “softsearches” can be supported. In other words, when the search requestincludes at least one value which is not included in the index 200, butalso includes at least one value which is included in the index 200, thesearch to locate the requested computing-based managed items can bebased on the one value which is included in the index. At step three, ifafter examining the search results the user decides that the manageditem represented by unique identifier ID-106(2) is of interest, the usercan place the unique identifier ID-106(2) into a focus collection 314,as shown. It should be appreciated that in the context of systemsmanagement, the ability to perform “soft searches” for locating manageditems of interest may offer many advantages over conventional databasequeries.

Although the exemplary searching described with reference to FIG. 3 onlypertains to a limited amount of data, the index and data used to performthe searching can be much more involved. For example, the search canoperate on the type system, detecting classes of items such as “SQLServer”, and on the data in the instances of those classes. The searchcan also operate on ancillary metadata that may be specified for thepurpose of aiding a search, such as classification tags like “Database”for “SQL Server”, and phrase synonyms like “Monitor” for “Display”. Theexpression “type system” is used herein in a very general sense todescribe that the search may be implemented with object technology inwhich case terms like “classes” and “instances” are directly representedin the index, or with more conventional relational database technologyin which case the “item types” are represented in other ways.

It should be appreciated that the index 200 can include not only therelatively static configuration data (such as “Manufacturer”), but canalso include dynamic data that describes a state of a computing-basedmanaged item which can change over time. The dynamic data describing thestate of a computing-based managed item can be updated as the state ofthe computing-based managed item changes, thereby indicating an updatedstate of the computing-based managed item. One example, of such dynamicdata is data describing a “Health State” of a managed item, as shown inindex 200. For example, in the case of dynamic data relating to the“Health State”, a search for “Resolved” could return any alerts formanaged items which have experienced a “severe health problem” which hasbeen resolved.

Because dynamic data changes over time, the index 200 can beperiodically updated. Index updating can take place as soon as theupdated data is received, or alternatively, the indexing can proceedasynchronously in the background while other work is done, in order togenerate a more responsive environment.

FIG. 4 illustrates exemplary scenarios 400 in which embodiments ofsystems management and focus collection can be implemented, and is nowdescribed with ongoing reference to index 200 (FIG. 2). FIG. 4illustrates examples 402 and 404, each of which includes a userinterface 406. The user interface 406 includes a search field 408, aresults field 410, and a focus collection 412. The illustration showsentry of search request(s) at step one, display of search results atstep two, and collection of selected ones of the search results into thefocus collection at step three.

In one implementation the system can provide the user with an option toupdate (or refresh) the index. In the illustrated example, the userinterface 406 provides the user with a selectable refresh control 414,which when selected initiates that the index be refreshed. This can bevery helpful in situations when latency is not acceptable to the user.When a request to update the indexing is made by a user, the dynamicdata is updated, and the user can avoid receiving latent informationfrom the search.

In one implementation the user can be presented with an option toconstruct a “find-more-like-this” search. In the illustrated example,the user interface 406 provides the user with a selectablefind-more-like-this control 416, which when selected, initiates that afind-more-like-this search be constructed. In this case, once the searchresults identifying the one or more computing-based managed itemslocated by the searching have been displayed to the user, the user canrequest that the find-more-like-this search be constructed based oncharacteristics of the displayed search results. The find-more-like-thissearch is designed to locate additional -computing-based managed itemswhich share a common characteristic with the one or more computing-basedmanaged items which have been identified. This may be achieved by thesystem retrieving the characteristics of the computing-based manageditems which have been identified and constructing a search request withthose characteristics. This search will of necessity use the “softsearch” technique that includes items that do not completely match thesearch requests, as otherwise only the original item would be included.Other implementations may be possible, for example, where the indexcontains some type of “digest” constructed from the characteristics ofthe system and the search is performed directly on the digest, or byother means.

In one implementation the user can be presented with an option to selectthat search results be progressively refined. In the illustratedexample, the user interface 406 provides the user with a selectableprogressively refine control 418, which when selected, initiates arequest that the search results be progressively refined. Once thisrequest has been received, the search results can be progressivelyrefined as additional search requests that further identify therequested computing-based managed items are received. The progressivelyrefined search results can be displayed for the user via the userinterface 406. This may be achieved by searching the relatively shortlist of items in the search result field 410, by constructing a searchrequest that includes the additional refinement terms as well as astrict requirement that the unique identifiers be included, or by othermeans.

In example 402, at step one, the user selects the progressively refinecontrol 418, thereby initiating a request that search results beprogressively refined. The user then enters a value “Denver” in thesearch field 408 in order to find all the managed items that areassociated with that value. At step two the results of the search aredisplayed in results field 410. The search is shown to have locatedthree managed items (e.g., represented by unique identifiers ID-104(1),ID-104(2), and ID-106(2)) which are associated with the value “Denver”.One of the items (represented by unique identifier ID-104(1)) isassociated with the geographic location, “Denver” and is also associatedwith the manufacturer “Denver Electronics”, while the other two itemslocated by the search (respectively represented by unique identifiersID-104(2) and ID-106(2)) are each associated with the manufacturer“Denver Electronics” but not with the geographic location “Denver”.After examining the search results, the user can place an item into thefocus collection 412, or can chose to enter one or more addition searchvalues. In the illustrated example, the user decides to add an additionsearch term as described below.

In example 404, at step one, a user enters an additional value“Software” in the search field 408. In response to this entry, a searchthat progressively narrows the search results is initiated. At step twothe search is shown to have located only one managed item (representedby unique identifier ID-106(2)) which is associated with both the value“Denver” and with the value “Software”. The other managed items(respectively represented by unique identifiers ID-104(1), ID-104(2))which were included in the initial search result are no longerdisplayed, since these items are not associated with the value“Software”. At step three, the user can place the one managed item(represented by unique identifier ID-106(2)) into a focus collection 412as show, or can continue to perform other searches.

In other implementations, various options are provided to make thesearch function more convenient for the user. In one implementation, thesearch expressions can be stored for future use. In anotherimplementation, the user may have the option of naming a searchexpression so that it will be easier to recognize the meaning of acomplex search expression. Such search expressions can be presented in a“combobox” control or similar list associated with a search entry field,but may also be rendered as virtual folders (not shown). In addition, aquery type, such as “Server Role”, may be presented to the user as avirtual folder, and a set of distinct server roles may be rendered asvirtual sub-folders at the next level. In addition to allowing the userto explicitly designate search expressions to be saved for future use,the system may also automatically store recently used search expressionsand present them for reuse.

In another implementation, rather than executing the search in a globalcontext which produces all items known to the management device 102 thatmatch the search criteria, the search can instead be appliedincrementally within a local context. In other words, the user cannavigate to a specific location, or to a specific type of managed item,and then search from there using any of the search techniques discussedherein. In this case, the search is used as an incremental filter on anydisplay of managed items, which in effect means that theun-contextualized search can be considered an incremental filter basedon the root of the system.

In another implementation, the user may simply point to a word in anydisplay and a search is performed based on that word. For example, afternavigating to a specific managed item (e.g., a computer system), adisplay in the user interface may list all the services running on thatcomputer. The user may then simply point to one of services, such as“SQL”, and thereby invoke a search based on that word in order to locateother SQL servers. Similar searches can be made based on otherattributes of the system 100, in effect creating lists of systemssimilar in some sense, to the current systems.

Systems management solutions often present diagrams showing networktopologies, service topologies, or other structures in the form ofgraphical diagrams (i.e., icons and connecting lines). In oneimplementation, the management device 102 can present a contextualizedsearch from each node or connector shown in such diagrams, such as “findservers of the same type”, “find servers with the same roles enabled”,or “find other mission-critical systems”. In another implementation, theuser can simply “click on” a symbol in the network topology diagram tosearch for the managed item represented by that symbol.

Although the search techniques described herein are most often invokedexplicitly by a user, another implementation automatically performs asearch as the user is entering data into the user interface. Forexample, as the user enters a description of a problem, the system maydisplay a list of documentation, diagnostic processes, or relatedincidents that are relevant to the problem as described so far, and asthe user adds descriptive terms to the problem description, the list ofrelevant data becomes more focused.

Although the search techniques described herein are most often used in aGUI, such search techniques can also useful in character-based userinterfaces (often called “command line interfaces (CLIs)”) or inscripting systems. The same indexing and search techniques, and the samedata and metadata, support GUIs, CLIs, and scripts. For systems thatsupport more than one user interface technique, one implementation usesthe same technique and the same data as the basis for search, regardlessof the interface technique. This can be done to ensure thatcorresponding operations in the different techniques will return thesame results and provide consistent behavior.

As described above with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4, after navigating tothe computing-based managed items (respectively identified by uniqueidentifiers), whether using conventional techniques based on containersand relationships, or search-based techniques as described above,selected ones of the unique identifiers can be collected into a focuscollection (e.g., focus collections 314 and 412) where the selected onesof the unique identifiers are at least temporarily maintained for thesystems manager. The use of a focus collection (e.g. 314, 412) resolvesmany of the difficulties systems managers face when selecting severalmanaged items for further manipulation, especially when such items arelocated in separate navigational contexts. The system can require thatthe user explicitly collects some of the unique identifiers into a focuscollection (e.g., 314, 412), or can alternatively consider the completeset of unique identifiers produced by the navigation and search to be adefault focus collection.

When a focus collection (e.g., 314, 412) is made available to the user,the user can navigate to a managed item using any technique (e.g.,folder navigation and/or search), and can then simply collect manageditems of interest in the focus collection (e.g., 314, 412) where theitems will not be lost during additional navigation. Therefore, themanaged items collected in the focus collection (e.g., 314, 412) can bethe result of any one of a multitude of navigation and searchtechniques. For example, the user can make one query which locates someitems of interest which can be placed in the focus collection (e.g.,314, 412), and then do another query to find additional items ofinterest which can be added to the focus collection (e.g., 314, 412),and so forth. Thus, the items of interest can be located incrementallybase on any number of queries, and collected in the focus collection(e.g., 314, 412). There is no need for the user to construct one“clever” query which will locate all the items of interest. Since theconstruction of “clever” or “complex” queries is an art and sciencewhich requires logic training and/or experience, the ability to putforward several simple queries and locate the items of interest is agreat advantage to users who do not have the requisite logic trainingand/or experience to construct “clever” or “complex” queries.

After collecting items in the focus collection (e.g., 314, 412), theuser can perform various operations on one or more of the collectedmanaged items. The user can pick-and-choose items from the focuscollection (e.g., 314, 412) based on any criteria. For example, the usercan choose to perform operations on a single item in the focuscollection, on a group of items sharing one or more characteristics, oron any other combination of items. As another example, after repeatedlyadding managed items to the focus collection (e.g., 314, 412), the usercan perform various operations on all those managed items together.

Any conventional user interaction gestures can be used for placingmanaged items in the focus collection (e.g., 314, 412), includingclicking a button in an action list, making a selection from a menu,pressing a keystroke combination, and/or dragging-and-dropping the itemsinto the focus collection. Therefore, once the systems manager haslocated a set of several managed items and these managed items have beenplaced in the results list (e.g., results list 312 and 410), thenselected ones of the managed items from the results list can be easilyplaced into the focus collection (e.g., focus collection 314, 412). Itshould be noted that, although via the user interface display (e.g.,308, 406) it may appear that selected ones of the managed items arethemselves being moved from the results list (e.g., 312, 410) and placedinto the focus collection (e.g., 314, 412), the systems manager isreally collecting selected ones of the unique identifiers into the focuscollection (e.g., 314, 412).

In one implementation, there is no need for the user to manage the focuscollection (e.g., 314, 412), such as by deleting it after use, since thefocus collection (e.g., 314, 412) can be a transient construct which isautomatically discarded when it is no longer needed. In oneimplementation, the focus collection (e.g., 314, 412) can be saved forfuture use, either under an automatically generated name or under a namespecified by the user. In another implementation, the system can keepthe most recently used focus collection (e.g., 314, 412) for a period oftime, eventually discarding the least recently used focus collection(e.g., 314, 412) after a reasonable time period. The user may choose tosave the focus collections (e.g., 314, 412) at the local computer.Alternatively, the user can save the focus collections (e.g., 314, 412)in a central database together with other management data, since savingthe focus collection (e.g., 314, 412) to the central database allows theuser to access and re-use saved focus collections even when using thesystem from a different computer, and to share the focus collection withothers.

In yet another implementation, the user (e.g., systems manager) performsa search or a folder navigation, and then adds one or more managed itemslocated by the search or folder navigation to the focus collection(e.g., 314, 412). If the focus collection (e.g., 314, 412) is saved andthen re-used later, the same managed items will still be available inthe focus collection (e.g., 314, 412). In such a case, there is no needfor the search to be re-executed or for the folder contents to bere-evaluated.

in another implementation, the search expression or the folder itselfcan be added to the focus collection (e.g., 314, 412). In this case,performing operations on the focus collection (e.g., 314, 412) have thesame behavior, and locate the same set of managed items. However, whenthe focus collection is re-used, the search or folder contents aretypically re-evaluated.

The focus collection (e.g., 314, 412) can be used in a GUI, in a CLI, ora scripting system, with consistent behavior. Although systemsmanagement navigation and focus collection may be implemented separatelyin each type of environment and provides the benefits discussed herein,the focus collection (e.g., 314, 412) can be implemented in a commonunderlying service that allows sharing of stored focus collections andother information across all types of interfaces.

Methods for systems management navigation and focus collection, such asexemplary methods 500, 600, and 700 which are described respectivelywith reference to FIGS. 5, 6, and 7, may be described in the generalcontext of computer executable instructions. Generally, computerexecutable instructions can include applications, routines, programs,items, components, data structures, procedures, modules, functions, andthe like that perform particular functions or implement particularabstract data types. The methods may also be practiced in a distributedcomputing environment where functions are performed by remote processingdevices that are linked through a communications network. In adistributed computing environment, computer executable instructions maybe located in both local and remote computer storage media, includingmemory storage devices.

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary method 500 for systems managementnavigation and focus collection, and is described with reference to thesystems management system 100 shown in FIG. 1, the exemplary index 200shown in FIG. 2, and the exemplary scenarios 300 shown in FIG. 3. Theorder in which the method is described is not intended to be construedas a limitation, and any number of the described method blocks can becombined in any order to implement the method, or an alternate method.Furthermore, the method can be implemented in any suitable hardware,software, firmware, or combination thereof.

At block 502, the computing-based managed items which are managed in asystems management environment are indexed, such that a uniqueidentifier is respectively associated with each one of thecomputing-based managed items in an index. For example, managed items(e.g., 104(1) and 104(2)) which can be managed in a systems managementcontext can be indexed, such that a unique identifier (e.g., ID-104(1)and ID-104(2)) is respectively associated with each one of thecomputing-based items in the index 200.

At block 504, a search request is received to locate one or more of thecomputing-based managed items from among the computing-based manageditems which have been indexed. For example, a user can enter a searchrequest using manager device 102 to locate one or more of thecomputing-based managed items from among the computing-based manageditems which have been indexed. Receipt of such a search request isillustrated at FIG. 3, example 302, where the search request “Denver” isshown in search field 310.

At block 506, the systems management environment is searched to locatethe one or more computing-based managed items based on the searchrequest, such that each of the one or more computing-based managed itemslocated when searching is identified by the unique identifier associatedwith that item. For example, the manager device 102 can search thesystems management environment to locate the one or more computing-basedmanaged items based on the search request.

At block 508, the results of the search, identifying the one or moremanaged items located by the search, are displayed. For example, themanager device 102 can display the results of the search via the userinterface 108. Display of the search results located by such a search isalso illustrated at FIG. 3, example 302, where the search results“ID-104(1), ID-104(2), and ID-106(2)” are displayed in the searchresults field 312. In one implementation, the user interface 108includes a details pane which can display details associated with eachof the search result, and an actions pane and toolbar for taking actionone or more items which have been located by the search.

At block 510, selected ones of the unique identifiers are collected intoa focus collection where the selected ones of the unique identifiers areat least temporarily maintained for the systems manager or other user.For example FIG. 3, example 302, step three, illustrates collecting aselected one of the unique identifiers “e.g., unique identifierID-104(1)” in the focus collection 314.

FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary method 600 for systems managementnavigation and focus collection, and is described with reference to thesystems management system 100 shown in FIG. 1, the exemplary index 200shown in FIG. 2, and the exemplary scenarios 400 shown in FIG. 4. Theorder in which the method is described is not intended to be construedas a limitation, and any number of the described method blocks can becombined in any order to implement the method, or an alternate method.Furthermore, the method can be implemented in any suitable hardware,software, firmware, or combination thereof.

At block 602, the computing-based managed items, which are managed in asystems management environment, are indexed such that a uniqueidentifier is respectively associated with each one of thecomputing-based managed items. For example, managed items (e.g., 104(1)and 104(2)) which can be managed in a systems management context can beindexed, such that a unique identifier (e.g., ID-104(1) and ID-104(2))is respectively associated with each one of the computing-based items inthe index 200.

At block 604, additional search requests to progressively refine andfurther identify the one or more computer-based managed items arereceived. FIG. 4 illustrates a selectable progressively refine control418 which can be selected to initiate a request that search results beprogressively refined as additional search requests that furtheridentify the requested computing-based managed items are received. Oncethis request has been received, the search results can be progressivelyrefined as the additional search requests that further identify the oneor more computing-based managed items are received.

At block 606, the displayed search results are progressively refined aseach of the additional search requests is received. For example, in asillustrated in example 402, there are initially three items (representedrespectively by unique identifiers ID-104(1), ID-104(2), and ID-106(2))displayed in the initial search result 410. In example, 404, theadditional value “Software” is entered and the search results arerefined, so that the search results field 410 displays only one manageditem (represented by unique identifier ID-106(2)) which is associatedwith both the value “Denver” and with the value “Software”. The othertwo items (represented respectively by unique identifiers ID-104(1) andID-104(2)) which were included in the initial search result 410 shown inexample 402, are no longer displayed, since they are not associated withthe value “Software”.

At block 608, a request to update the index has been received, such thatthe dynamic data is updated to avoid receiving latent informationassociated with the one or more computing-based managed items. Forexample, FIG. 4 illustrates a selectable refresh control 414 which canbe selected by a user to initiate a request that the index be updated(or refreshed).

At block 610, a request to construct a “find-more-like-this” searchbased on characteristics of the displayed search results is received.The “find-more-like-this” search is designed to locate additionalcomputing-based managed items which share a common characteristic withthe one or more computing-based managed items which have beenidentified. For example, FIG. 4 illustrates a selectablefind-more-like-this control 416 which can be selected to initiate arequest to construct a “find-more-like-this” search.

FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary method 700 for systems managementnavigation and focus collection, and is described with reference to thesystems management system 100 illustrated in FIG. 1, the exemplary index200 illustrated in FIG. 2, and the exemplary scenarios 300 illustratedin FIG. 3. The order in which the method is described is not intended tobe construed as a limitation, and any number of the described methodblocks can be combined in any order to implement the method, or analternate method. Furthermore, the method can be implemented in anysuitable hardware, software, firmware, or combination thereof.

At block 702, the computing-based managed items which are managed in asystems management environment are indexed, such that a uniqueidentifier is respectively associated with each one of thecomputing-based managed items. For example, managed items (e.g., 104(1)and 104(2)) which can be managed in a systems management context can beindexed, such that a unique identifier (e.g., ID-104(1) and ID-104(2))is respectively associated with each one of the indexed computing-baseditems. An exemplary index 200 illustrating such indexing is provided atFIG. 2.

At block 704, the computing-based managed items which are part of asystems management environment are navigated to locate one or morecomputing-based managed items. Each of the computing-based managed itemsis located by a unique identifier. For example, a systems manager (orother user) can use user interface 108 to navigate among thecomputing-based managed items using conventional techniques based oncontainers and relationships, or can navigate among the computing-basedmanaged items using the search-based techniques described herein.

At block 706, selected ones of the unique identifiers are collected intoa focus collection where the selected ones of the unique identifiers areat least temporarily maintained. Example 302, illustrates collecting aselected one of the unique identifiers “ID-104(1)” in the focuscollection 314.

At block 708, a name can be assigned to the focus collection. Forexample, the name can be automatically generated and assigned to thefocus collection 314 by manager device 102, or a name specified by theuser via the user interface 108.

At block 710, the focus collection can be saved. For example, themanager device 102 can automatically save the most recently used focuscollection for a period of time, eventually discarding the leastrecently used focus collection after a reasonable time period, or thefocus collection can be saved by the user via the user interface 108.

At block 712, the focus collection can be deleted. For example, themanager device 102 can automatically delete the focus collection 314when it is no longer needed. In other cases, the focus collection 314can be automatically delete after a reasonable time period, or the focuscollection 314 can be can be deleted by the user via the user interface108.

FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary computing environment 800 within whichsystems management navigation and focus collection, as well as thecomputing, network, and system architectures described herein, can beeither fully or partially implemented. Exemplary computing environment800 is only one example of a computing system and is not intended tosuggest any limitation as to the scope of use or functionality of thearchitectures. Neither should the computing environment 800 beinterpreted as having any dependency or requirement relating to any oneor combination of components illustrated in the exemplary computingenvironment 800.

The computer and network architectures in computing environment 800 canbe implemented with numerous other general purpose or special purposecomputing system environments or configurations. Examples of well knowncomputing systems, environments, and/or configurations that may besuitable for use include, but are not limited to, personal computers,server computers, client devices, hand-held or laptop devices,microprocessor-based systems, multiprocessor systems, programmableconsumer electronics, network PCs, minicomputers, mainframe computers,distributed computing environments that include any of the above systemsor devices, and the like.

The computing environment 800 includes a general-purpose computingsystem in the form of a computing device 802. The components ofcomputing device 802 can include, but are not limited to, one or moreprocessors 804 (e.g., any of microprocessors, controllers, and thelike), a system memory 806, and a system bus 808 that couples thevarious system components. The one or more processors 804 processvarious computer executable instructions to control the operation ofcomputing device 802 and to communicate with other electronic andcomputing devices. The system bus 808 represents any number of severaltypes of bus structures, including a memory bus or memory controller, aperipheral bus, an accelerated graphics port, and a processor or localbus using any of a variety of bus architectures.

Computing environment 800 includes a variety of computer readable mediawhich can be any media that is accessible by computing device 802 andincludes both volatile and non-volatile media, removable andnon-removable media. The system memory 806 includes computer readablemedia in the form of volatile memory, such as random access memory (RAM)810, and/or non-volatile memory, such as read only memory (ROM) 812. Abasic input/output system (BIOS) 814 maintains the basic routines thatfacilitate information transfer between components within computingdevice 802, such as during start-up, and is stored in ROM 812. RAM 810typically contains data and/or program modules that are immediatelyaccessible to and/or presently operated on by one or more of theprocessors 804.

Computing device 802 may include other removable/non-removable,volatile/non-volatile computer storage media. By way of example, a harddisk drive 816 reads from and writes to a non-removable, non-volatilemagnetic media (not shown), a magnetic disk drive 818 reads from andwrites to a removable, non-volatile magnetic disk 820 (e.g., a “floppydisk”), and an optical disk drive 822 reads from and/or writes to aremovable, non-volatile optical disk 824 such as a CD-ROM, digitalversatile disk (DVD), or any other type of optical media. In thisexample, the hard disk drive 816, magnetic disk drive 818, and opticaldisk drive 822 are each connected to the system bus 808 by one or moredata media interfaces 826. The disk drives and associated computerreadable media provide non-volatile storage of computer readableinstructions, data structures, program modules, and other data forcomputing device 802.

Any number of program modules can be stored on RAM 810, ROM 812, harddisk 816, magnetic disk 820, and/or optical disk 824, including by wayof example, an operating system 828, one or more application programs830, other program modules 832, and program data 834. Each of suchoperating system 828, application program(s) 830, other program modules832, program data 834, or any combination thereof, may include one ormore embodiments of the systems and methods described herein.

Computing device 802 can include a variety of computer readable mediaidentified as communication media. Communication media typicallyembodies computer readable instructions, data structures, programmodules, or other data in a modulated data signal such as a carrier waveor other transport mechanism and includes any information deliverymedia. The term “modulated data signal” refers to a signal that has oneor more of its characteristics set or changed in such a manner as toencode information in the signal. By way of example and not limitation,communication media includes wired media such as a wired network ordirect-wired connection, and wireless media such as acoustic, RF,infrared, other wireless media, and/or any combination thereof.

A user can interface with computing device 802 via any number ofdifferent input devices such as a keyboard 836 and pointing device 838(e.g., a “mouse”). Other input devices 840 (not shown specifically) mayinclude a microphone, joystick, game pad, controller, satellite dish,serial port, scanner, and/or the like. These and other input devices areconnected to the processors 804 via input/output interfaces 842 that arecoupled to the system bus 808, but may be connected by other interfaceand bus structures, such as a parallel port, game port, and/or auniversal serial bus (USB).

A display device 844 (or other type of monitor) can be connected to thesystem bus 808 via an interface, such as a video adapter 846. Inaddition to the display device 844, other output peripheral devices caninclude components such as speakers (not shown) and a printer 848 whichcan be connected to computing device 802 via the input/output interfaces842.

Computing device 802 can operate in a networked environment usinglogical connections to one or more remote computers, such as remotecomputing device 850. By way of example, remote computing device 850 canbe a personal computer, portable computer, a server, a router, a networkcomputer, a peer device or other common network node, and the like. Theremote computing device 850 is illustrated as a portable computer thatcan include any number and combination of the different components,elements, and features described herein relative to computing device802.

Logical connections between computing device 802 and the remotecomputing device 850 are depicted as a local area network (LAN) 852 anda general wide area network (WAN) 854. Such networking environments arecommonplace in offices, enterprise-wide computer networks, intranets,and the Internet. When implemented in a LAN networking environment, thecomputing device 802 is connected to a local network 852 via a networkinterface or adapter 856. When implemented in a WAN networkingenvironment, the computing device 802 typically includes a modem 858 orother means for establishing communications over the wide area network854. The modem 858 can be internal or external to computing device 802,and can be connected to the system bus 808 via the input/outputinterfaces 842 or other appropriate mechanisms. The illustrated networkconnections are merely exemplary and other means of establishingcommunication link(s) between the computing devices 802 and 850 can beutilized.

In a networked environment, such as that illustrated with computingenvironment 800, program modules depicted relative to the computingdevice 802, or portions thereof, may be stored in a remote memorystorage device. By way of example, remote application programs 860 aremaintained with a memory device of remote computing device 850. Forpurposes of illustration, application programs and other executableprogram components, such as operating system 828, are illustrated hereinas discrete blocks, although it is recognized that such programs andcomponents reside at various times in different storage components ofthe computing device 802, and are executed by the one or more processors804 of the computing device 802.

Although embodiments of systems management navigation and focuscollection have been described in language specific to structuralfeatures and/or methods, it is to be understood that the subject of theappended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features ormethods described. Rather, the specific features and methods aredisclosed as exemplary implementations of systems management navigationand focus collection.

1. A method comprising: indexing computing-based managed items which aremanaged in a systems management environment, such that a uniqueidentifier is respectively associated with each one of thecomputing-based managed items in an index, wherein: the indexingincludes associating values that respectively describe each one of thecomputing-based managed items with field names that categorize thevalues by type; and one or more of the values are used as part of thesearch request; receiving a search request to locate one or more of thecomputing-based managed items from among the computing-based manageditems which have been indexed, the search request comprising at leastone value that is not included in the index and at least one value thatis included in the index; searching the systems management environmentto locate the one or more computing-based managed items based on thesearch request, wherein the searching to locate the one or morecomputer-based managed items is based on the at least one value that isincluded in the index; and collecting the one or more locatedcomputer-based managed items through a user selecting one or more uniqueidentifiers into a focus collection, each of the one or more uniqueidentifiers associating with the one or more located computer-basedmanaged items, wherein the focus collection is configured to: collectincrementally, based on a plurality of different search requests, theselected one or more located computer-based items; and at leasttemporarily maintain all of the selected one or more computer-baseditems within the focus collection such that all of the selected one ormore located computer-based managed items in the focus collection arenot lost when the plurality of different search requests are conductedwithin the systems management environment.
 2. A method as recited inclaim 1, wherein the computing-based managed items include anycombination of one or more: computer systems, software, networks, mobiledevices.
 3. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the selected ones ofthe unique identifiers that are at least temporarily maintained at thefocus collection are for a systems manager.
 4. A method as recited inclaim 1, wherein the search request includes a value without referencinga field name associated with the value.
 5. A method as recited in claim1, wherein the indexing includes dynamic data that describes a state ofa computing-based managed item, and wherein the dynamic data is updatedover time as the state of the computing-based managed item changes toindicate an updated state of the computing-based managed item.
 6. Amethod as recited in claim 5, further comprising receiving a request toupdate the indexing, such that the dynamic data is updated to avoidreceiving latent information associated with the one or morecomputing-based managed items.
 7. A method as recited in claim 1,further comprising: receiving additional search requests toprogressively refine a previous search request; searching the one ormore computing-based items to locate the one or more computing-baseditems that satisfy the additional search requests, wherein the one ormore computing-based items are located as a search result based on theprevious search request; and displaying search results which areprogressively refined as each of the additional search requests arereceived.
 8. A method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:displaying search results identifying the one or more computing-basedmanaged items located by the searching; receiving a request to constructa find-more-like-this search based on characteristics of the displayedsearch results, the find-more-like-this search designed to locateadditional computing-based managed items that share a commoncharacteristic with the one or more computing-based managed items whichhave been identified; constructing the find-more-like-this search, theconstructing comprising: retrieving characteristics of the one or morecomputing-based managed items which have been identified; and building asearch request with the characteristics; and performing thefind-more-like-this search by searching the systems managementenvironment for additional one or more computing-based managed itemsthat contain one or more of the characteristics but do now completelymatch the characteristics.
 9. A method comprising: navigating amongcomputing-based managed items which are part of a systems managementenvironment to locate one or more computing-based managed items whenrequested, each of the one or more computing-based managed items locatedby a respective unique identifier; collecting the one or more selectedcomputing-based managed items into a focus collection, wherein the focuscollection is configured to: collect incrementally, based on a pluralityof different navigations, the one or more selected computer-basedmanaged items; and at least temporarily maintain all of the one or moreselected computer-based items within the focus collection such that allof the one or more selected computer-based managed items in the focuscollection are not lost during the plurality of different navigationsthrough the systems management environment; receiving a request toconstruct a find-more-like-this search based on characteristics of theone or more computing-based managed items in the focus collection, thefind-more-like-this search designed to locate additional computing-basedmanaged items that share a common characteristic with the one or morecomputing-based managed items in the focus collection; constructing thefind-more-like-this search, the constructing comprising: retrievingcharacteristics of the one or more computing-based managed items in thefocus collection; and building a search request with thecharacteristics; and performing the find-more-like-this search bysearching the systems management environment for additional one or morecomputing-based managed items that contain one or more of thecharacteristics but do now completely match the characteristics.
 10. Amethod as recited in claim 9, wherein the navigating includes searchingthe systems management environment to locate the one or morecomputing-based managed items.
 11. A method as recited in claim 9,wherein the navigating includes using a search expression to locate theone or more computing-based managed items, the method further comprisingtransferring the search expression into the focus collection, whereinthe search expression is: a value or a combination of values that aredifferent from the unique identifier; and at least temporarilymaintained at the focus collection.
 12. A method as recited in claim 9,wherein the navigating and the collecting are incrementally performed asthe one or more computing-based managed items are sequentially located,the incrementally navigating comprising: progressively refining a searchexpression to locate the one or more computing-based managed items, thesearch expression being a value or a combination of values that aredifferent from the unique identifier; searching the one or morecomputing-based items to locate the one or more computing-based itemsthat satisfy the refined search expression, the one or morecomputing-based items being a first search result based on a searchexpression prior to the refining; and displaying a second search resultbased on the refined search expression.
 13. A method as recited in claim9, further comprising receiving a search request that includes at leastone of: a search request entered via a graphical user interface (GUI); asearch request entered via a command line interface (CLI); a searchrequest entered via an application programming interface (API).
 14. Amethod as recited in claim 9, wherein the focus collection isimplemented using a common underlying service that allows the focuscollection to be shared across graphical user interfaces (GUIs), commandline interfaces (CLIs), and scripting systems.
 15. One or more computerreadable storage media comprising computer executable instructions that,when executed, causes one or more processors to perform actionscomprising: index computing-based managed items which are part of asystems management environment that includes computer systems, software,networks and mobile devices, such that each of the computing-basedmanaged items is associated with a respective unique identifier in anindex, wherein: the indexing includes associating values thatrespectively describe each one of the computing-based managed items withfield names that categorize the values by type; and one or more of thevalues are used as part of the search request; receive a search requestto locate one or more of the computing-based managed items which havebeen indexed, the search request comprising at least one value that isnot included in the index and at least one value that is included in theindex; search the systems management environment to locate the one ormore of the computing-based managed items based on the search request,wherein the searching to locate the one or more computing-based manageditems is based on the at least one value that is included in the index;and collecting the one or more located computer-based managed itemsthrough a user selecting one or more unique identifiers into a focuscollection, each of the one or more unique identifiers associating withthe one or more located computer-based managed items, wherein the focuscollection is configured to: collect incrementally, based on a pluralityof different search requests, the selected one or more locatedcomputer-based items; and at least temporarily maintain all of theselected one or more computer-based items within the focus collectionsuch that all of the selected one or more located computer-based manageditems in the focus collection are not lost when the plurality ofdifferent search requests are conducted within the systems managementenvironment.
 16. One or more computer readable storage media as recitedin claim 15, wherein the selected ones of the unique identifiers thatare at least temporarily maintained in the focus collection are for asystems manager.
 17. One or more computer readable storage media asrecited in claim 15, wherein the actions further comprise: receivingadditional search requests to progressively refine a previous searchrequest; searching the one or more computing-based items to locate theone or more of the computing-based items that satisfy the additionalsearch requests, wherein the one or more of the computing-based itemsare located as a search result based on the previous search request; anddisplaying search results which are progressively refined as each of theadditional search requests are received. displaying search results whichare progressively refined as each of the additional search requests arereceived.
 18. One or more computer readable storage media as recited inclaim 15, wherein the actions further comprise: displaying searchresults identifying the one or more computing-based managed itemslocated by the search; and receiving a request to construct afind-more-like-this search based on characteristics of the displayingsearch results, the find-more-like-this search designed to locateadditional computing-based managed items that share a commoncharacteristic with the one or more computing-based managed items whichhave been identified; constructing a find-more-like-this search based oncharacteristics of the displayed search results; and performing thefind-more-like-this search by searching the systems managementenvironment for additional one or more computing-based managed itemsthat contain one or more of the characteristics but do now completelymatch the characteristics.
 19. One or more computer readable storagemedia comprising computer executable instructions that, when executed,configure one or more processors to perform the method as recited inclaim 9.